At least 11 people have been killed in the Dallas area from a storm system packing torrential rains and unleashing a string of tornadoes that toppled homes, cut powerlines and snarled transport for people returning from the Christmas holidays.
The worst-hit area was in Garland, northeast of Dallas, where eight people were killed, cars blown off highways and homes flattened, officials said.
Three other deaths were reported in the Dallas metro area, the United State's fourth most populous region, with about 7 million people.
Scores of people were injured in the region, officials said.
Five of the deaths in Garland were believed to have been related to vehicles having been struck by a tornado near State Highway 190 and Interstate 30.
More than 600 structures in north Texas suffered damage from the tornadoes and storms, officials said.
At least 17 people have died in fierce storms and floods in Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas.
Meanwhile, more than 100,000 people have had to evacuate from their homes in the bordering areas of Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina due to severe flooding in the wake of heavy summer rains brought on by El Nino, authorities said on Saturday.
In the worse affected country, Paraguay, around 90,000 people in the area around the capital city of Asuncion have been evacuated, the municipal Emergencies Office said.
Many are poor families living in precarious housing along the banks of the River Paraguay.
The Paraguayan government has declared a state of emergency in Asuncion and seven regions of the country to free up funds to help those affected.
Several people have been killed by trees falling in the storms that caused the flooding, local media reported. There was no official death toll yet.
